Tag: Television

Are You Still Watching?

I’ve had Netflix for at least three years now – and for a man with a particular interest in television and how it’s made, I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t spent nearly enough of that time actually watching it. Not even an international pandemic and the lockdowns therein have prompted me to get a move on, much to Louis’ chagrin. I should clarify that I’m not quite as uncultured as I must immediately look – there’s a lot of film and TV that I have seen. It’s just that much of what I haven’t seen happens to be well-known, including all the latest sensations on the streaming service. For a long time, I could never be quite sure why. It would be oh-so-easy to for me to sit back and press play, so why hadn’t I?

The answer recently hit me when I least expected it. Having finished the latest series of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, I was staring forlornly at the long watch list Louis had compiled for me, comprised of all the things he’d been insisting I devour for goodness knows how long. All things I’d probably enjoy, as countless millions of others had, but just had no motivation to start myself. Most of the things I had watched were either old favourites I’d seen several times, or newcomers not featured on the list. And why? Because I felt no pressure to watch them – they hadn’t been sat there glaring at me with the weight of expectation behind them, I’d simply found and appreciated them of my own accord.

That’s exactly where I think my problem lies. It seems that in 2021, there’s something new we should all be getting our teeth into almost every week – and that if you haven’t watched that film or binged ten episodes of that hot new series, then you’re lagging behind everyone else, out of the loop. There’s suddenly a plethora of pop culture references that will be lost on you if you’re not immediately in the know, and that’s a pretty daunting prospect, at least for me. It’s where the aforementioned pressure comes from, and it’s not much fun at all. Realising what’s been putting me off, though, has given me the perfect approach going forward. If I’m to get the best out of Netflix, I just have to take it at my own pace – even if that means having to put up with more of Louis’ incessant badgering as I prioritise what I want to see, rather than what I feel I need to. He’ll just have to wait a little longer for me to get to Stranger Things.

Mason

Hooked

When I went out for lunch with Will recently, he asked me about a film I’d reviewed for Creative Non-Fiction a little while ago – the critically-acclaimed Whiplash. As we discussed our shared enjoyment of it, it occurred to me that I have never published a film or TV review – or at least a post of appreciation – here before. What I wrote for that film may yet be uploaded, but for this post I’ve decided to focus on Speechless, an American sitcom that has only just arrived on British screens. There’s so much comedy on offer to us nowadays that the good examples must really shine in order to stand out, and Speechless had me intrigued from the very first episode I saw. It’s being broadcast on E4, but I knew straight away that I had to dig deeper to make the most of it, so I found the rest of its three seasons on YouTube.

In case you haven’t seen it, Speechless follows the exploits of the weird and wonderful DiMeo family, consisting of mum Maya (Minnie Driver), dad Jimmy (John Ross Bowie), and their three children, Ray (Mason Cook), Dylan (Kyla Kennedy), and JJ (Micah Fowler). The latter is the one around whom all their lives revolve. Like me, JJ has cerebral palsy, albeit in a more severe form than me or the actor who plays him. He is given a great deal of physical assistance from both his family and his aide Kenneth (Cedric Yarbrough), with whom he forms something of a double act. The show’s title alludes to the fact that he does not speak – instead, he uses a laser pointer and word board to communicate, and Fowler had to learn to use both of these prior to taking his role. The result of this is a wide array of reactions and expressions, all of which allow the viewer to connect and laugh with him, without ever needing to hear a word. Of course, it is immensely satisfying to see that despite his differences to others, JJ is accepted and engaged with like any other teenager by his peers. So far, I’ve seen him join his school choir (using Kenneth as his “singing voice”), get drunk at a house party and find love, and I can’t wait to see him get up to more mischief – he isn’t made a total saint…

What’s even more pleasing to see, though, is cerebral palsy itself being highlighted so prominently on TV, and so brilliantly by Fowler. Whilst I have seen disabled characters and actors before (albeit not often enough), I can scarcely remember another occasion when I have seen someone with my condition. I’ve never met anyone whose cerebral palsy affects them in the same way mine does, such are the differences between cases, but to see it at all means a great deal. It’s therefore such a shame that Speechless has literally just been cancelled – I can’t help but feel that this important, entertaining and very much cherished show has been cruelly snatched away from me just as I’m getting hooked on it. Nevertheless, there are plenty more episodes for me to devour just yet!

Mason

 

Trouble In The Airwaves

For the first time ever, at the beginning of this Formula One season, I found myself feeling something other than delight. Yes, there is still half a season standing between me and it, but it is there nevertheless, staring me in the face undeniably. I refer to the imminent loss of free-to-air TV coverage in the UK, which threatens to leave me without regular access from 2019. Just like running water, it has always been something I have taken for granted during every race weekend. I could find solace in knowing that I would have a constant, eight-month stream of race action to make everything better in my life. It would be uninterrupted (apart from the ad breaks on ITV and Channel 4), and as far as I was concerned then, things were going to stay that way. Unfortunately, however, this is no longer the case – one of Bernie Ecclestone’s last acts as F1’s leading man before being removed by Liberty Media was to close an exclusive deal with Sky, allowing them to continue showing every lap live from next year onwards.

That makes 2018 the last season for Channel 4’s coverage. As I write, no replacement channel has been announced, and this prolonged silence is making the prospect of not seeing next year’s races even worse. At university I may end up with a TV licence, but I won’t be able to afford a costly Sky Sports package. This causes me to be infuriated even more by the deal, since I have put at least 15 years of time and enthusiasm into the sport. I have never willingly missed a race in that time. I have invested in race tickets, video games and merchandise, and this is how I am repaid – by being deprived of my main link to F1. Yes, there is excellent radio coverage provided by the BBC, but F1 is a visual sport – and listening to the lights go out on the grid, or a collision between two title protagonists, doesn’t have quite the same impact as it would on screen.

Since taking the helm in early 2017, Liberty Media have impressed many by keeping the humble fan at the centre of attention. After their early efforts, they are yet to truly put a foot wrong, but their work is far from over. They are compensating for the changes in TV coverage with the launch of a new online streaming service, but the live racing action it provides is not yet available in the UK. We now live in a world where it would be foolish to ignore the internet and social media in promoting F1, but I feel Liberty urgently needs to address the TV situation in order to make a long-term impact. Is it really worth focusing on an online presence if it will completely exclude those fans who cannot join it?

Mason